The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art. Conventional vehicular fuel systems, such as those installed in automobiles, may employ a “return fuel system” whereby a fuel supply tube is utilized to supply fuel to an engine and a fuel return line is utilized to return, hence “return fuel system,” unused fuel to a fuel tank. More modern fuel systems typically employ a “returnless fuel system” that may either be mechanically or electronically controlled. Regarding such returnless fuel systems, such as an electronic returnless fuel system (“ERFS”), only a fuel supply line from a fuel tank to an engine is utilized; therefore, no return fuel line from the engine to the fuel tank is necessary. As a result, in an ERFS only the exact volume of fuel required by an engine is delivered to the engine, regardless of the varying degree of the volume of fuel required.
While current electronic returnless fuel systems have generally proven to be satisfactory for their applications, each is associated with its share of limitations. One limitation of current ERFS is maintaining fuel pressure in as much of the fuel line as possible in order to accomplish engine starting and restarting as quickly as possible with no interruptions of fuel supply to the engine. Another limitation of current ERFS is maintaining the prime condition of the fuel line to prevent “depriming” of the fuel line. An adequate prime condition will permit an adequate fuel supply to reach the engine during engine starting. Another limitation of ERFS is keeping the fuel filter surrounding the fuel pump sufficiently saturated with fuel when the fuel pump module reservoir is experiencing a low fuel level or volume.
In still yet another limitation pertaining to pressure valves, valve placement may not be advantageous for ease of assembly or for best utilizing space within the fuel pump module reservoir. Additionally, placement of such pressure relief and/or check valves may not be optimally advantageous for maintaining adequate fuel volumes and pressures in the fuel line. Finally, modern ERFS do not provide a structure for capturing fuel from a bleed orifice to help maintain the prime condition of the fuel pump module filter, such as the filter surrounding the fuel pump.
What is needed then is a device that does not suffer from the above limitations. This, in turn, will provide a device that provides pressure relief valves in locations that permit ease of assembly and that permits fuel to be vented into the fuel tank or fuel pump module reservoir as design dictates. Furthermore, a device will be provided that permits fuel to be pumped into a module sump to provide cooling to the fuel pump and to be used as fuel to maintain a primed condition of the fuel filter.